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District Court Dismisses Antitrust Class Action Complaint Against Private Equity Firms
February 26, 2008 Full PDF
In the wake of the Department of Justice's inquiry into alleged anticompetitive behavior among certain private equity firms, a handful of class actions have been filed alleging collusion among private equity firms. These complaints generally allege a conspiracy among private equity firms to rig bids or otherwise collude to suppress the prices paid in going-private transactions. On February 21, 2008, in what appears to be the first decision to address these issues, a district court dismissed an action against two private equity firms that had joined forces in a bidding contest, concluding that the facts alleged did not establish a violation of the Sherman Act.